16 Days China Highlights Tour

Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Guilin, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai

Tour Code: TAT-China-06

Tour Type: Private Tour

Price from: US$2269 Free Inquiry

Tour Feature

  • Fine- designed China tour covering the main travel destinations in China
  • Private service catering to your personal interests
  • Suitable for first-time visitors to experience the combination of the history, culture, scenery and modern China

 

Tour Itinerary Expand All

Day 1 Arrival Beijing

Transfer to hotel

Meals: No Meals
Recommended Hotel:  Citadines Ritan Service Apartment or similar ★★★★

We will start the tour from Beijing, which is the capital city of China. Upon your arriving, you will meet our local tour guide waiting at the exit of Beijing airport. Our professional guide will transfer you to check in hotel. Enjoy your free time.

Forbidden City View
Forbidden City

Day 2 Beijing

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Back Lakes and Nanluoguxiang Alley

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Citadines Ritan Service Apartment or similar ★★★★

It will be an exciting day for you as this is your 1st-day tour in China. Our local guide will meet you at the hotel lobby and show you to explore this historical city. The 1st stop is Tian'anmen Square. It is the largest public square in the world. After a short visit at the square, we will walk through it and go to the entrance of Forbidden City, which is just behind Gate of Tian'anmen. Forbidden City is the highlight of the Beijing city tour. It is the largest and most complete ancient imperial palace in the world. 2 hours visit to the palace will amaze you. Then we will walk to Jingshan Park. Climb up to the top of Coal Hill to enjoy a nice panoramic view of the Forbidden City.

An authentic Chinese lunch is arranged at a local restaurant for you. In the afternoon, we will move to Back Lakes (Houhai) and walk through Nanluoguxiang Alley. As one of the most famous Beijing Hutong districts, it is really a good place to discover the history and the endless charm of Beijing City. We will have a stop at a tea house before driving back to your hotel. If you are interesting in Chinese gourmet, Peking roast duck is recommended as an optional dinner.

Beijing Hutong
Beijing Hutong

Day 3 Beijing

Mutianyu Great Wall, Olympic Park, The exteriors of Bird Nest and Water Cube

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Citadines Ritan Service Apartment or similar ★★★★

After the hotel breakfast, the local tour guide will meet you at the hotel lobby in the morning. Then we will drive out of the downtown of Beijing, to visit Mutianyu Great Wall. It is now popular among foreign visitors with less tourists but more beautiful scenery. We left enough time for you to hike and take pictures on the Great Wall. It will be definitely your unforgettable experience. Lunch will be arranged at a local restaurant at the foot of the mountain.

Then drive back to downtown and we will have a stop at jade store en route. When we arrive in Beijing city, we will have a picture stop at Bird Nest and Water Cube, the amazing architectures built for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. You will be dropped off at the hotel after the tour. For a long hike on the Great Wall, you are highly recommended to take a traditional Chinese foot massage (optional).

China Great Wall
Great Wall

Day 4 Beijing - Xi'an

Temple of Heaven, High speed train to Xian

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an or similar ★★★★

After hotel breakfast, check out from hotel. Then guide will lead you to visit next landmark of Beijing - Temple of Heaven. It is really a masterpiece of ancient times. It was a place where the royal family prayed for a  good harvest of the nation each year. Currently it is like a park, where local resdents do morning exercises in the square and make it full of vigor. Then step into a pure Hutong nearby and pretend to be a real Beijinger for a while.

After a la carte lunch at a local restaurant, we will go to Beijing Xi Railway Station (West Railway Station), from which you will take 5-hour high speed train for Xi'an, another exciting destination of your China trip.

Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven

 

Day 5 Xi'an

Terracotta Warriors, Tang Bo Art Museum, Bell Tower, Muslim Quarter

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an or similar ★★★★

The local guide picks you up from hotel lobby in the morning, then head for Terracotta Warriors --- today's highlights. It is regarded as one of the most important archaeological finds in the world, with troops, horses and carriages in battle formation. We guarantee you an amazing experience. Then we will go to a pottery figurine factory, where you will learn how to make a pottery figurine.

You will enjoy a Chinese lunch at a nearby restaurant before we drive back to downtown. In the afternoon, we will visit Tang Bo Art Museum. It is a private art museum, displaying many ancient Chinese artworks. If you are interested in Chinese culture, you could practice writing a couple of Chinese characters or painting a traditional Chinese painting in your style. After that, we will have leisure time at the Bell Tower area and Muslim Quarter. The tour will end by dropping off at your hotel.

Terracotta Warriors
Terracotta Warriors

Day 6 Xi'an - Chengdu

Ancient City Wall, Wild Goose Pagoda, Take high-speed train to Chengdu

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Atour Hotel Chengdu or similar ★★★★

Have a leisure breakfast in the hotel, then check out from the hotel. With the hotel pick-up, you will enjoy a leisure city tour before leaving for Chengdu. We will visit the Ancient City Wall, which is one of the oldest and best-preserved city walls in China. You can visit the wall on foot, or by bicycle or sightseeing car. After that, we will move to Yanta North Plaza from which you will have a good view of Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is another landmark of Xi'an.

After lunch, take a 4-hour high-speed train to Chengdu, the hometown of giant pandas. The local guide will wait for you at the exit of railway station.

Xian Ancient City Wall
Xian Ancient City Wall

Day 7 Chengdu

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Renmin Park, Jinli Old Street

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Atour Hotel Chengdu  or similar ★★★★

Today we will experience the slow but dynamic Chengdu life. In the morning, our local tour guide will pick you up at the hotel lobby. Then drive to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding which is at the suburb of Chengdu. It is a huge institution that replicates the natural habitat of the giant panda. A sightseeing shuttle bus is included to make sure a worry-free tour to you. Here you will learn the habits and characteristics of Giant and baby pandas, observe them eating bamboos and playing around.

We will arrange for you to enjoy the local Sichuan food as lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit Renmin Park. It is a paradise for local people dancing, playing mahjong and drinking teas. A tea break will be arranged in the park as well as mahjong lesson if you are interested in it. After that enjoy shopping time at Jinli Old Street with elegant style of the architectures that tells you what Sichuan looks like during the Qing Dynasty.  Back to the hotel and the Face Changing show will be a good optional activity for tourists.

Giant Pandas
Giant Pandas

Day 8 Chengdu - Guilin

Fly to Guilin, Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Guilin Bravo Hotel or similar ★★★★★

In the early morning, our guide will pick you up from the hotel and help you with the check-out. Then you take the morning flight from Chengdu to Guilin, a small city in southern China with the most beautiful natural view of China. The Guilin local guide will pick you up from Guilin airport with the TCT signboard. On the way back to the hotel, visit Reed Flute Cave which is a famous scenic spot offering a magic fairyland of stalactites, stalagmites in fantastic shapes and colors. Then transfer to the hotel for check-in before A La Carte Lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. You will have a stop at a pearl store. After a break at noontime, drive to Elephant Trunk Hill, the badge of Guilin city. The hill looks exactly like a huge elephant stretching its trunk drinking water of the Li River. Then have a leisure walk along the Shanhu Lake and Ronghu Lake.

Guilin City View
Guilin City View

Day 9 Guilin

Longji Rice Terraces, Minority Village

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Guilin Bravo Hotel or similar ★★★★

You will enjoy a beautiful breakfast in the hotel. The local guide will meet you at the hotel lobby and transfer you to visit Longji Terraces Scenic Area. It will take about 2 hours driving up and down along the mountainous road. Trekking for a while from the entrance, you will be astonished by the marvelous terrace fields, which are built into the hillsides surrounding the minority villages. The rice terraces look like great steps cut into the slopes. With the different sceneries in different seasons, Longji Terraces Scenic Area attracts thousands and thousands of tourists from all over the world.

Lunch will be arranged at a local family restaurant in the village. It is a good chance to try some local food, such as bamboo rice, bamboo chicken, etc, which you may never hear before.

After lunch, you will have enough free time to explore the minority village. If you walk into the rice terraces, you may find villagers working in the paddies. Walking through the village, you will find kids playing, women in their own national costumes weaving or doing needle works at home, etc. The rice terraces are watered and ploughed from may. It is a good time to capture the light and shadow if you are interested in photography. It becomes green from July and turns to yellow in September. You will see different views if you visit in a different season.

We will drive back to the downtown of Guilin later and have a short stop at a pearl store on the way. If you would like to see a night view of Guilin, the Four Lakes Night Cruise is a good choice as an optional activity.

Longji Rice Terraces
Longji Rice Terraces

Day 10 Guilin

Li River, West Street

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Guilin Bravo Hotel or similar ★★★★

Take a leisure trip with us today. In the morning, our local tour guide will pick you up from the hotel lobby and transfer you to the river cruise pier. We will check in a luxury cruise boat and start the great Li River cruise at 09:30. You will enjoy the fairy-tale scenery along the Li River to Yangshuo. You will feel you are just walking in a beautiful traditional Chinese painting. When arriving at Yangshuo, we will walk through the West Street or take a sightseeing car to the parking lot directly. Optional Yangshuo countryside tour by biking is recommended if weather allows.

Then we will drive you back to your hotel in Guilin. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Li River Cruise
Li River Cruise

Day 11 Guilin - Hangzhou

Fly to Hangzhou, West Lake, Lingying Temple

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Zhejiang International Hotel or similar ★★★★

Check out from hotel in the morning and drive to airport to catch the morning flight for Hangzhou. Upon arriving at Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, you will be greeted by local guide.

After lunch, go ahead for Su Causeway, one of the top 10 Scenes of West Lake. Explore the West Lake in-depth, while the local public bike or shuttle bus is also available at your disposal. Firstly, bike from Su Causeway to West Lake Colored Port View Fish Garden about half an hour. There are thousands of red carps in the fishpond here. Enjoy the pleasure for feeding the red carps and have fun. After that, get back to Su Causeway and enjoy orientation walk to Bai Causeway about 1 hour, while you will appreciate most of the famous scenes.

Then visit the Lingyin Temple, which is one of the top ten most famous ancient Buddhist monasteries in China. It is also a tourist attraction that can offer you appealing places of historic interest, cultural relics as well as agreeable natural scenery. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Hangzhou West Lake
Hangzhou West Lake

Day 12 Hangzhou

Meijiawu Tea Plantation, Chenghuangge Pavilion, Hefang Street

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Zhejiang International Hotel or similar ★★★★

After leisure breakfast in the hotel, we will pick you up from the hotel and transfer to Meijiawu Tea Culture Village, which is considered the best place to return to nature. With its idyllic beauty, the tea farmer will take you to the mountain area and you will be impressed by the tea terraces of high and low hill-slops. You may have a chance to learn how green tea is made.  A La Carte Lunch at a local restaurant with the assistance of your guide. Before the free time to explore Hefang Street by yourself, you will visit Chenghuangge Pavilion, which is at the bank of West Lake.

Meijiawu Tea Plantation
Meijiawu Tea Plantation

Day 13 Hangzhou - Suzhou

Take high-speed train to Suzhou, Lingering Garden, Lion Grove Garden, Pingjiang Ancient Street

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Garden Hotel or similar ★★★★

A leisure breakfast in hotel in the morning, then our guide will transfer you to train way station to catch a high speed train for Suzhou. After lunch, you will have a half day Suzhou city exploring tour to admire the classic Chinese gardens.

The first stop is Lingering Garden which is the large classical private garden in China. Lingering Garden was built in the Qing Dynasty style and it is known for exquisite architectural art. Next stop is at Lion Grove Garden.  It is one of the four greatest gardens and representative classic gardens in Suzhou City and has a history of more than 650 years. Then we will have a leisure walk along an ancient street --- Pingjiang Ancient Street , where many locals still living.

Lingering Garden
Lingering Garden

Day 14 Suzhou - Shanghai

Tongli Water Town, drive to Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast& Lunch
Recommended Hotel: SSAW Boutique Hotel Shanghai Bund or similar ★★★★

Before driving to Shanghai, we will have a half-day tour to explore a famous water town near Suzhou. Drive to Tongli Water Town, which was established in the Song Dynasty and very rich in cultural heritage. Enjoy your time and discover its long history and traditional residences including gardens, houses and temples which were built in the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. You will have a chance to take a local boating trip along the waterways. Lunch will be arranged at a local restaurant along the waterway.

After the tour, you will be transferred to Shanghai by a private car directly and check-in at the hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day. Nanjing Road would be a nice place for hanging out at night.

Tongli Water Town
Tongli Water Town

Day 15 Shanghai

Shikumen, the Bund, Jade Buddha Temple, Lujiazui CBD, Shanghai Tower

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Recommended Hotel: SSAW Boutique Hotel Shanghai Bund or similar ★★★★

Today our local tour guide will show you to explore the new and old Shanghai. After breakfast, we will walk into the Shikumen area with many old buildings, a blend of western and  Chinese traditional culture. You will find many local residents are still living there. Then, we will move to visit Yuyuan Garden. It is a traditional Chinese garden situated in the downtown of Shanghai. Continue a walk on the Bund, the famous landmark of Shanghai was a foreign trade center from the late 19th century.

Lunch is arranged at a local Chinese restaurant, enjoy the local food, which tastes a bit different from the food of northern China and southern China.

In the afternoon, we will go to visit Jade Buddha Temple first and a silk museum will be after it. Then we will drive pass Lujiazui CBD new area and have a cup of coffee or take a break on the River side Promenade. Shanghai Tower is now the tallest building in Shanghai. Enjoy a Shanghai panoramic view journey at the top of Shanghai Tower. Tour will end by dropping you off at the hotel. Shanghai acrobatic show is recommended to you as an optional activity.

the Bund
the Bund

Day 16 Departure Shanghai

Transfer to airport

Meals: Breakfast

Free day at leisure and be transferred to the airport for return flight. We can arrange the Maglev train ride to Pudong airport if you are interested in, or we will drive you directly to the airport.

Service Ends

What our clients say

5/5.0 | Excellent

S

Stephen

5.0

Sep 15 ,2019

Great way to see the major sights & experience traditional food & culture.
Wow!!! Our Japan and Korea tour has a good balance of historical, traditional, and contemporary sights or experiences. TopAsiaTour managed the logistics of getting around cities and countries which made this effortless for us. The guide was incredibly helpful and always went that extra mile for the group. The size of the group was good and ensured you never missed anything.

S

Sabina Sapkota

5.0

Jun 18 ,2019

Every aspect of planning our trip to China was seamless. Joyce has been amazing. She responds to any and every request immediately and has been incredibly informative about every aspect of our trip. I would definitely recommend the Top Asia Tour team

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